


The Forest Guide

by cleardott



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Canon, forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleardott/pseuds/cleardott
Summary: Summary: Kitamoto and Nishimura get lost in the woods. There they bump into a strange silver haired boy.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-

Nishimura and Kitamoto looked around. Green leaves hung over the sky and bushes full of berries led a path. The sky was fading into the night as the sun sank into the earth. 

“So, any idea where we are?” Kitamoto asked.  
“Nope.” Nishimura looked around for any signs that a trail could be near. When he had chased after a fat cat, he didn’t realize how far he went until Kitamoto asked him.  
“Maybe next time don’t chase after random raccoons.”  
“I’m pretty sure that was a really fat cat.”  
“Whatever floats your boat.” Kitamoto looked up at the sky again. “Your mom is gonna be worried.”  
“She's probably too busy paying attention to my brother.” Nishimura replied. It was that time of year again, and his brother was studying harder than ever. Kitamoto made a sudden stop.  
“Shh…” He whispered. “Look over there.” He pointed his finger into an opening of the woods. There, Nishimura could hear a young boy talking.  
“I can’t drink yet, I’m too young.” The boy had hair that shined like the moon and green eyes that sparkled like gems. He talked to something that they could not see, but Nishimura was pretty sure something was there. Winds wrapped around him and leaves fluttered. He looked like something straight out of a fairytale.  
“I wonder who’s trying to get him to drink.” Kitamoto whispered. He looked just as amazed.  
“Who knows, it could be a spirit.” Nishimura took another step to look closer and noticed that there were all kinds of animals with him. Frogs pranced around in a circle and butterflies were in his hair. Pigeons and crows sang in the branches in a wonderful melody. A familiar fat cat layed next to the boy with a big bottle of sake in his paws.  
“Man, I want to ask how to get back on the trail, but I don’t want to interrupt what’s going on.”  
“Agreed.” Nishimura did not want to break the beautiful image. Unfortunately, he managed to do so anyways, when he tripped on his shoelace and fell face first.  
“Nishimura! You okay?” Kitamoto’s eyes filled with worry.  
“I think so,” Nishimura mumbled, “I landed on something fluffy.”  
“Argh! Stupid human!” A middle-aged man’s voice came from the fat cat.  
“Uwah! The fat cat spoke!” Nishimura quickly scrambled to his knees backing up to where Kitamoto stood.  
“Sensei!” He watched as the young boy punched the fat cat.  
“What did I do?” The cat spoke. He looked somewhat angry at the young boy.  
“You’re a cat! Act like one!”  
“I am not a cat! I am a very noble being!” The boy clenched his fist and the cat silenced. The boy then turned towards the invaders.  
“Why are you here?” He asked. He looked at them with the green eyes, yet they looked like glass.  
“Umm…” Nishimura looked at Kitamoto for help.  
“This idiot decided to chase after your pet tanuki and got both of us lost.” Kitamoto said bluntly. The boy looked at the fat cat and then Nishimura, who turned beet red. The boy then laughed softly. His laugh was so beautiful that the whole forest seemed to go quiet. His eyes seemed sparkled for a small moment.  
“So you’re lost?” The boy asked.  
“Basically yes.” Kitamoto replied. He helped Nishimura up from the ground.  
“I see. I can lead you out of here as long as you promise that you will say you didn’t see me here.”  
“Deal.” Kitamoto grabbed Nishimura's arm and tried to help him over to the clearing. The boy looked a bit worried when he saw blood coming from Nishimura's knees.  
“Hold on.” The boy pushed Nishimura to the floor as he got a first aid kit from his pocket.  
“Did this guy get hurt that often to the point where he had to carry a med kit with him?” Nishimura pondered. By the time the boy finished dressing the wound, the moon was high in the sky.  
“What’s your name?” The boy asked.  
“My name is Satoru Nishumra.”  
“My name is Atsushi Kitamoto,” Kitamoto pauses for a brief second, “What’s your name?”  
“I can’t tell you. Just in case we meet outside the forest.”  
—


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-

“So, about the talking cat.” Nishimura said. The boy flinched. He looked at Nishimura and Kitamoto who were clearly wanting an explanation.   
“Umm…” The boy mumbled something inaudible.  
“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.” Kitamoto asked.   
“Nothing.” The boy looked uncomfortable. Kitamoto threw a glance at Nishimura. Nishimura nodded in return and decided not to push.   
As they continued walking, he realized how frail the boy he looked. He tripped on his own feet and had a far-away look in his eyes. He was missing a shoe and his shirt was torn. The more he examined him, the more sad he seemed. Kitamoto tugged at his shirt.   
“Nishimura, it’s not polite to stare.” He whispered.  
“Do we have to be polite? That guy doesn’t seem much older than us.”   
“Do you want him to ditch you in the woods?” Kitamoto asked.  
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna do that.” The boy replied. Nishimura and Kitamoto jumped. They forgot that the said person was there. Nishimura made a note to himself to make sure to whisper.  
By the time they made it out on a path, Nishimura was out of breath.   
“I’ll see you later!” Nishimura called out. The boy smiled a bittersweet smile.  
“I don’t think we’ll meet again. This is our goodbye after all.”   
“Eh? You live near here don’t you?” Nishimura asked, but when he turned around the boy was gone. His world seemed to slowly turn black. 

When Nishimura wakes up, he feels somewhat refreshed. It feels like he had a nice dream. He doesn’t remember what it was about, but it was vivid. He looked around and saw Kitamoto sleeping on the trunk of a tree. He got up and tripped. His knees were shaky and had bandages on them. When did he get hurt? He does not know.   
“Kitamoto! Wake up!” Nishimura shouted.  
“5 more minutes.” Kitamoto yawned and tried to go back to sleep again. He then fell to the ground.   
“Ouch!” Kitamoto looked at the leaves and noticed they were outside.   
“We should head back soon. We don’t want to lose our path.” Nishimura said.   
“Yeah. That’s right.” Nishimura and Kitamoto stood up and began to walk away. But then, from the corner of his eye, he swears he could see a silver hair boy and a really fat cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, at the beginning I felt very excited to write this story, but as I continued, I lost interest. I hope you can still enjoy it.

**Author's Note:**

> The idea wasn’t that well thought out. Doesn’t make it better that it was written by a newbie. I was just wondering: what if Nishimura and Atsushi met Natsume before?


End file.
